Little Tao

This is one of the best and most authentic Szechuan restaurants in Boston. Every single dish I've had here is amazing, and the service is great too even though the restaurant is a bit small. The braised pork trotters is a must try - but it's large so only get it if you have a big group. The lamb bone marrow soup is out of this world.

This place was ok, not great. The noodles with beef was probably the best dish we had. The dumplings are surprisingly sweet (didn't enjoy that) and the beef with potatoes is tasty but get ready for the texture of the beef, it has a lot of tissue and tendons.

🚫 0/5 – Never Again 🚫 I’m honestly shocked this place has any good reviews. Little Two couldn’t follow the simplest instructions, and when the food finally arrived, it was a disaster: • Bland taste – zero flavor, like they seasoned it with air. • Small portions – I had to double-check if it was a sample size. • Overpriced – charged like it’s fine dining, delivered like it’s cafeteria leftovers. I don’t mind paying for quality, but this was an insult to my taste buds and my wallet. If you value your money, your appetite, or your dignity, skip Little Two entirely. 💬 Tag your foodie friends so they don’t make the same mistake. #LittleTwo #FoodFail #OverpricedAndUnderwhelming

The Pickle Fish Filet in Broth was the standout dish. The pickled vegetables elevated the dish with their slight tartness. It was also very comforting. The Vegetarian Mapo Tofu was also pretty good. However, the Chendgu Cold Skin Noodle was disappointing as the thick slippery noodles lacked flavor despite being drenched in chili oil and other spices.

Sichuan cuisine is super popular but I’ve been reluctant to try it because I cannot really handle spicy. However, I decided to give it a try with my friends and was very surprised that the spiciness wasn’t too bad. Well, I’ve requested very mild. To my surprise, I absolutely loved the food here. Each dish had its own unique bold flavors. Definitely a must visit!

Ordered Little Tao after a night of drinking. Was rlly in the mood for some General Tao’s chicken. Saw the great reviews and decided to go with it. Got here quick, packaging was great and clean. Food was piping hot, no need to reheat. General Tsos was good, wish there was more general tsos sauce with the meal but still was good. I also got the chili dumplings, I ordered them mild and wowww these were rlly spicy lol. Great flavor and great meal but very spicy. Interested to be trying more from this menu and to check the restaurant out.

Casual Szechuan noodle bar that offers comforting flavors. Szechuan cuisine has always been popular, but the competition in Allston has really been heating up lately. While MH holds the popularity crown by a wide margin, spots like Little Tao often get overshadowed. I've dropped by Little Tao a few times for lunch, and for a place that proudly advertises zero MSG, the flavors were bold. Little Tao’s signature dishes are undoubtedly their Szechuan noodles, like the Chengdu noodles and Twice Cooked Pork noodles. Each bowl comes bathed in rich chili oil, with savory meat toppings adding that salty/umami punch. Despite the generous pour of chili oil, the spice level is actually pretty manageable. My only gripe? The noodles weren’t fully drained, which thinned out the flavors a bit. From their regular Szechuan menu, I’ve tried the Mapo Tofu, Pickled Fish Fillet, and Braised Beer Duck. The first two were solid—not the best I’ve had around here, but still good. The Braised Beer Duck, though, was a different story; it was more of a chore than a meal. They serve it chopped bone-in, with barely any meat on the pieces, so I was pretty much left with picking around more bones than bites. Overall, ia great spot to swing by for some straightforward, comforting Szechuan noodles. While I haven’t fully explored the rest of their menu, I’d suggest sticking with the noodles.

I recently dined at Little Tao, and I must say, it was a fantastic experience! The Stir Fried Cabbage, Cold Noodles, and Braised Pork Trotter are sooooooo good. The Cold Noodles were refreshing and flavorful, a perfect dish for a hot day. The Stir Fried Cabbage was a little bit oily, but the flavor is perfect. The service was excellent, I will definitely be returning soon!

We were going back and forth on where to have a weekday lunch in Allston and finally decided on Little Tao. I'm so glad we tried it! I'll definitely be coming back. The food came out very quickly and was all delicious. We got the weekday lunch specials, which range from $14.95 to $15.95. They all come with rice, which was really delicious! The rice has the perfect balance of sticky and al dente, and paired wonderfully with the food. The complimentary pickled vegetables were also delightfully mala, savory, and crunchy! I got the pickled fish fillet ($15.95) which was amazing! The soup had an addicting savory flavor without being sour and the fish was very tender. I usually don't eat much rice but the soup + rice combo was so good! I would come back just for this. The Sichuan spicy chicken ($14.95) came highly recommended by other reviewers, and I'm happy to share that it was amazing! Great flavor, big pieces of chicken, very fresh and crispy. The chicken took slightly longer than the other dishes, I assume because it was being freshly fried. I would definitely get this again. We also tried the braised beef brisket ($15.95) and braised chicken ($14.95, bone-in). I think the brisket could've been better, and what I tried was a bit tough. I think the other dishes we got were better than these. It's a small restaurant and there aren't many tables, so I imagine it gets quite busy in the evenings. Can't wait for my next visit!

I tasted owner chef was not cooking on my 4 orders anymore For this prices it was quite wasting money Below the average experience with new chef or substitute chef. I used to work at few restaurants so I know running restaurants is very tough business, But, still, Food is art and we need good one hopefully every day. we go for chef's own creations not recipe and ingredients. Way Too Much Money for Below Average Tasting Food !! Some restaurants do like this, open restaurants with amazing experienced chef and train few chefs and quality and enjoyment go down. I was so disappointed to know this horrible pattern is on this restaurant. I hope it's temporary hiccups . . .

staff/boss is a Chinese, every cold, face, we don't feel we are welcome. We don't want to come back again.

Small little place on Comm Ave, with about a half dozen tables. Authentic Sichuan with a good mix of dishes mostly appealing to a Chinese clientele. Service is unpolished but friendly, and they'll guide you through the menu with enthusiasm. Dry Chili Tiger Shrimp: Shells on, flavor in, and stays on even if the shells come off. Nicely spicy but well rounded. Plump shrimp and lots of them. Soft Tofu Fish in Chili Sauce: Very delicate fish, with force heat, some oil, and some herbs and peanuts. I could do without the peanuts, but interesting addition. Sichuan Twice Cooked Pork Belly: A standard dish at Sichuan places, and this one is as good as anyone's. Moist, tender, thin-cut pork with a light coating of spicy, slightly oily sauce, celery-like veggies, and some chile peppers. Flavor, crunch, and heat. Great with white rice. Spicy Cumin Beef: Similar to the lamb dishes with cumin had elsewhere, this was tingly spicy, with tender beef that still had some juices. Nice contrast of spices and fresh herbs. Signature Kung Po Chicken: Probably geared for less adventurous diners. Usually the Americanized stuff is a little sweet, but rather than swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction, they leaned in harder and made it even sweeter--with loads of honey, not sugar--but tempered that with an extra potent dose of fiery red peppers. Looks like a lot of peanuts, but many of them are actually large slices of garlic. Braised Beer Duck: This hearty, stewy dish is perfect for the colder weather. The duck is soft, on the bone (requiring some tentative eating, but no less enjoyable), and spicy from the rich broth. Lots of large chunked lotus root and some other vegetables along for the ride. Great on white rice. Wontons in Chili Oil: Wasn't expecting so much broth, but a nice surprise. Spicy stuff, and by no means blow your face off spicy, but the peppers and spices divided a constant tickle to the throat (a la Gene's wonton soup dish for those familiar). Smoky Tea Flavored Duck: Quite possibly my favorite dish of 2022. Great color (inside and out), great texture, great juiciness, great smoky flavor. Signature Fish: High ticket price ($37), but high quality, high voltage flavor, and even high theater (served in a huge coffee-table-like tray, hot and bubbling), even though it's tilapia. Fried to a crisp and then simmered to keep it both flavorful and tender. Lots of peppers for heat and lots of herbs for both textural and flavor contrast, along with a thin, chile peppery, oily sauce that had none of the sweetened brown glop found in most suburban Sichuan whole fish dishes. Decent amount of vegetables (mostly lotus root, jicama, onion), tofu, and aromatics. Twice Cooked Pork Belly Noodle: Ordinary noodles not much different from linguine, but served with a lively, thin, spicy sauce. Studded with leeks and onions in addition to the slightly charred, slightly wobbly pork. Satisfying. Tao Tao Noodle: Flavorful, with beans, nuts, and herbs, and the noodles sometimes soft, sometimes more pleasantly al dente. Basil Eggplant: Sweet, spicy, herbal. Melt-in-mouth tenderness. Somewhat oily sauce, but very doable. Sichuan Stewed Pork: About a dozen sizable slices of pork belly, stewed to become very tender, and with a very similar texture to Jewish deli brisket or pastrami. Nice saltiness and vegetal complement from the little chopped pieces beside it. Leafy, beany, salty, delicious. Basil Eggplant: Mildly spicy but more sweet, though a restrained sweetness and a nice blend. Very tender. I'm not much of an eggplant guy but I always wind up taking more of these than I expect, because it's very appealing. Beef With Cumin Lunch Plate: Seemed different from the entree, as the lunch plate version had more sauce, less spice, and less cumin. I did like the extra sauce for use with the rice. Had I not had it their previous way, I'd love this dish. I'll still get it again, but prefer the entree version. Stir-Fried Garlic Pork Ribs: Very crisp and very succulent bone-in pork, with garlic, ginger, and herbs adding flavor. No sauce to speak of, but juicy enough not to need one. Not necessarily an appetizer, but it makes a good makeshift one. Chengdu Stewed Duck: Tender pieces on the bone, in a very spicy thin broth balanced by herbs. Lots of poultry flavor in the broth. Under what's visible are glass noodles, bean sprouts, soybeans, and other vegetables, but it's mostly a meatfest and a delicious one at that. Some offal in there too, but minor. Eggplant in Mashed Chili: A cold appetizer with the feel of a tapenade, only spicier. Lots of green color from slightly pickled peppers, with purple eggplant underneath. Overall, fantastic. Not every dish is what you expect, so always ask about the preparation and whether it's hot or cold. But more often than not, the meal will have at least one and usually two wow-factor dishes.

I got the twice cooked pork belly noodle to go through uber eats and it was SO good. The portion is massive and even though $18 on uber eats is a lot for two full meals it's not bad at all. I will definitely be back for more food soon. I can't say one bad thing about this place except for the fact that I can't eat it everyday! One thing is I wish they had dry pot on the menu because I love dry pot.

Food: I thought the food here in very tasty and authentic. Sichuan Dumplings: I really liked the sauce. It reminded me of the dumplings that I had in Chengdu. Tao Tao Noodles: I'll admit, I've never really seen chickpeas in much of Chinese cuisine. But the overall flavor of the dish is great. Mashed eggplant: The sauce on the eggplant was great. Ambience: The restaurant seems tidy. It's not the most romantic of the atmosphere but it's nice. Service: We came and it wasn't very busy. So it was easy to order. Food came out quickly. Overall: I highly recommend this restaurant if you want tasty Sichuan cuisine.

Unassuming storefronts are often the sign of a good authentic Chinese restaurant. There are only about 5 small tables, but each of them was full on a cold weekend afternoon around 3pm. The menu has solid traditional Chinese options and the portions are amazing. We tried the Sichuan beef noodle soup, yang chow fried rice, crispy cucumber, and kung pao chicken. Even though those dishes sound basic, each one tasted like the true homey Chinese dishes they are, and not the American-taste adjusted versions. Next time, I'd love to try their spicier dishes like soft tofu fish fillet in chili sauce and lamb marrow pot. They seem to do pretty well in takeout orders as well. I'm glad to see there's strong demand for this in Boston so hopefully more and more authentic Chinese spots stick around.

I can't believe I hadn't heard of this place until now!! Little Tao is a hole in the wall Sichuan restaurant in Allston. The food is BOMB...literally every dish is a flavor bomb. We got a huge spread: the garlic cucumbers, tao tao noodles, twice cooked pork belly, spicy chicken noodle, pork trotters soup, and pumpkin pancakes. The spicy chicken noodle dish was insanely good.. I've had both these dishes separately (chili oil noodle and dry fried chicken) but never together! It was a total explosion of spice. The chef can go super but is also happy to adjust to mild too! The pumpkin pancake tasted like sweet fried mochi with a chewy center. It was the perfect end to the meal. Definitely would order both noodle dishes, the pork belly, cucumbers and pumpkin pancake again. I really want to go back to eat more noodle dishes and also try the beef noodle soup. Overall a wonderful experience and the staff are so kind and treat you well! We'll definitely be back for more noodle dishes.

food and service amazing, it's not an ambiance place but doesn't have to be the food is so good. Best cold noodles and beef brisket, every dish we had was amazing. I can't wait to go back again and will recommend to all!!!

Got takeout from here and it was as expected. The food was still warm after being delivered and tasted great. I especially liked the fish! Will try to visit the actual restaurant in the future!

Just may be the best Szechuan (Sichuan) restaurant I've found in the Boston area. This is probably not a secret either as on a Sunday night the restaurant was packed. Space is small but service was very polite and quick. The food was very well done with well balanced spice and not just an 'attack on your taste buds' barrage of peppercorn and other flavors. For two people we ended up getting an appetizer (wontons in chili oil) two dishes (tea smoked half duck and twice cooked Szechuan pork belly) with the house special cabbage and a side of rice. This was enough food that we took half home.

The pork intestine tastes very fresh. They cleaned them well too. I didn't experience the weird smell like some other places do. Overall a great experience.

Little Tao is a very underrated Chinese restaurant located off one street from the busy Allston Asian scene. I ordered take out after seeing an advertisement on Uber eats. The menu is comprehensive and has some of the best finds in terms of Chinese cuisine. I ordered the sour stir fried potatoes, five spice braised beef, and bang bang chicken is sesame sauce. Overall very reasonably portioned for two people to eat. The veggies seemed fresh void of the sogginess or poor odor. The beef paired excellently with the house dry rub. The bang bang chicken was very saucy with a hint of spice if you're into that kind of chicken. Would definitely order again!

My husband and I came here for a late lunch on a Saturday. It is a small place with a few tables. We sat at the counter table along the window - a good spot to people watch. We ordered the tofu fish fillet in chili sauce and the beef and broccoli. Let me just say that the beef and broccoli has to be one of the best I've had. The brown sauce was flavorful, the beef tender, and the broccoli crispy. Tofu fish fillet was good, but nothing that stands out. Haven't been able to find a place that makes a fish chili dish with tofu since hot eastern in Chinatown closed, so this was a nice surprise. Price points are on the higher side but given prices everywhere, it's not that much more. Service was prompt, no complaints.

Underwhelming experience. 1) rice: stayed overnight 2) a cold dish: not fresh 3) they entered 18% for tips on my behalf. I was like at first confused and then I was disgusted at this practice.

Sichuan spicy beef noodle soup. The taste very good and spicy. Beef is very tender.

Ordered the Tao tao noodle which was amazing! Loved the pickled vegetables that came out first. Would come back

I went to Little Tao last night with my friend. The Sichuan Spicy Chicken was hands down the best I've had in Boston. It was crispy and flavorful, it exceeded expectations. The Wonton in Chili Oil was delicious as well. The chili oil was savory and sweet. I brought home leftovers--it tastes the best fresh. My friend got the Stir-Fried Pork Intestine with Dry Chili, which I had never tried before. It was also really good. It had a rich flavor that I usually want when I eat pork belly, but better. She ordered the Tao Tao Noodles, which were good, but I liked the other dishes more. Overall, I loved the food and will definitely come back to try more dishes on the menu.

Been wanting to try for a while and finally tried it. Outstanding. Food is great and so is the service. Excellent!!! Next time I'm in Boston, I'll be back.

Got food delivered from little tao recently. The spicy chicken noodle is incredibly tasty and flavorful. The regular level of spice was pretty darn spicy, but that just added to the overall flavor profile. Looking forward to trying out more dishes.

Delicious food! The Sichuan beef noodle soup was fresh and flavorful and full of beef. Perfect balance of ingredients and quite nice for a chilly/rainy day. This place just opened up a few weeks ago and I can't wait to come back to try more of their menu. Attentive staff and simple modern decor/vibe.

Such a very cute and cozy place. The food was very good and satisfying. The waitress was sweet and friendly. I would definitely eat here again. We had the Tao Tao noodles and Twice cooked pork belly noodles. Got the spicy chicken on the house!

Very authentic Szechuan cuisine. We passed by Sunday afternoon and found this new place open! My favorite was the biang biang chicken with sesame sauce. the sauce was so good and addicting. Perfect place if you are craving spicy food. this has to be the best Szechuan place in the area!

Really tasty!!!!! As a person addicted to Chuan food, I would love to recommend this to my friends!

The Tao Tao noodle and stir fired pork intestine with dry chili was a home run. So happy we found this place!

Generous portions and flavors were on point. The hot and sour soup was deliciously nostalgic. Cumin beef and Tao Tao noodles were delightful. All in all, perfect spot for a blustery Boston evening.

I can't believe they have their bathroom right in the kitchen... and it was the most disgusting bathroom I've ever been! Also I cannot imagine what it the cook just got outta the toilet and didn't wash his hand then got right back to cook for the customers

Best takeout we've ever gotten! Got garlic cucumber, Tao Tao Noodles, garlic chili eggplant, and sichuan spicy chicken.

eggplant tastes really good. Love this authentic Szechuan restaurant. Great price. Wonton in chili sauce is very spicy but very yummy!

Amazing. The food is just so good. Its a hidden gem tucked away in Allston.

The biang biang chicken appetizer was delicious and the Sichuan beef noodle soup was spot on! We'll be back for sure ＼(^o^)／

Very much enjoyed the Sichuan Twice Cooled Pork Belly. The Crispy Cucumber in mashed garlic was NOT fried, instead was very fresh and light - a welcome surprise. Food was not as spicy as I wanted up front but they were very accommodating in giving more pepper and hot chili oil. I will come back!